LAS CRUCES — While many New Mexicans were preoccupied with a giant nationwide lottery jackpot last week, hundreds of Doña Ana County residents were notified of surprise money from a different source.

The state of New Mexico in recent days announced a list of nearly 3,500 Doña Ana County residents and businesses who are the rightful owners of potentially hundreds of thousands in unclaimed cash. The list published in the Sun-News legal notices on Friday.

In some cases, people are owed property, like watches and jewelry.

The money and items have been awaiting their rightful owners for years, officials said.

And sometimes the value is hefty.

The largest unclaimed amount in Doña Ana County, for instance, is $120,566 owed to a Dorothy Towner, according to state officials. The smallest amount, on the other hand, is 1 cent, owed to an Allstate insurance firm.

Officials didn't know the dollar value of property from Doña Ana County only.

Advertisement

But it is just a "drop in the bucket," compared to statewide, said Stephanie Dennis, administrator for the state's unclaimed property office in Santa Fe.

"We have over 2 million properties up for claim," she said. "It's statewide."

The dollars accumulate from a variety of sources, officials said. Anyone who has left a bank account inactive for at least five years is likely to find their name on the list. Sometimes the funds are from paychecks that went undelivered. Sometimes they originate from an overpaid doctor's bill or credit card. After holding the money for five years, the businesses then hand it over to the state for safekeeping.

"It could be you overpaid on a money order," Dennis said. "You name it. We've got it."

Armando Cordero, 74, of Las Cruces seemed surprised Monday to hear that his name was on the list. The news was much better than being told he owed money, he said.

"If I don't have to pay back this money, it's fine for me," said Cordero, who works for Citizen's Bank in the supply room.

What would Cordero with the funds, if it happened to be a notable amount?

"Maybe painting or remodeling or something," he said.

Most of the likely owners in Doña Ana County were individuals. But the occasional business and nonprofit organization appeared, as well. They're listed under the last known addresses.

Possible owners reach from Salem to Las Cruces to Sunland Park, according to the listing.

Sunland Park Racetrack & Casino is owed money, as is the former El Paso-based Southwest Irrigated Cotton Growers Association, which dissolved in 2006.

Once the state takes possession of the money, Dennis said, it's obligated to hold it indefinitely.

"We have money going back to 1974," she said.

Sometimes, Dennis said, likely owners think her office is some sort of scam or that, because it's tied administratively to the state tax division, it's a trick to get payment on past due taxes. But that's not the case, she assured.

"We become the custodians and the caretakers. It's up to us to protect the money," she said.

And Dennis said her only goal is to get money back into the hands of the proper owners.

The unclaimed property office also holds safety deposit boxes that were let go because people failed to pay accounts, as well as the items that go with them.

"Mostly what we have is watches, jewelry, wills, coins and warranty deeds," she said.

People on the list should then send or call in an inquiry to the state, officials said. It should include the name of the owner, the address and the unique identifying "PID#" from the public notice, according to the state. Send the inquiry to:

OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — The death of actor Leonard Nimoy last week has inspired people to post photos on social media of marked-up five-dollar Canadian banknotes that show former prime minister Wilfrid Laurier transformed to resemble Spock, Nimoy's famous "Star Trek" character. Full Story